| 1. |
- Jadhari, Rojita, et al.
(författare)
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Advancing opioid stewardship in low-middle-income countries : challenges and opportunities
- 2024
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Ingår i: JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL POLICY AND PRACTICE. - : Taylor & Francis. - 2052-3211. ; 17:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The increased utilization of opioids in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) presents a growing threat of opioid-related abuse, misuse and diversion. Pharmacists, as integral members of healthcare teams, are responsible for dispensing and monitoring opioid use and hold a pivotal role in opioid stewardship within LMICs. This commentary describes the potential and multifaceted roles of pharmacists in opioid stewardship in resource-constrained settings and highlights appropriate strategies for promoting responsible opioid utilization.Opioid stewardship involves prioritising evidence-based prescribing, management and practices for pain management. It includes measures such as incorporating prescription drug monitoring programmes for appropriate opioid prescription, implementing safe disposal through drug take-back programmes, promoting non-opioid pain management, addressing the opioid addiction stigma, tapering opioid dose, educating patients and caregivers, establishing drug information centers, providing rehabilitative services and integrating collaboration with communities and experts.The combined difficulties of restricted access to healthcare resources and services coupled with low levels of literacy worsen the susceptibility to opioid abuse, misuse, and diversion in LMICs. Early detection, assessment and implementation of interventions to optimise opioid use are imperative for ensuring safe and effective opioid utilization, thereby mitigating the risks of overdose and addiction. The involvement of pharmacists in promoting safe and effective opioid utilization through education, monitoring, collaboration, and policy advocacy serves as a critical component in bridging existing gaps in opioid stewardship within LMICs.
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| 2. |
- KC, Ashish, 1982, et al.
(författare)
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The perfect storm: Disruptions to institutional delivery care arising from the COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal.
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of global health. - : International Global Health Society. - 2047-2986 .- 2047-2978. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The COVID-19 pandemic has led to system-wide disruption of health services globally. We assessed the effect of the pandemic on the disruption of institutional delivery care in Nepal.We conducted a prospective cohort study among 52 356 women in nine hospitals to assess the disruption of institutional delivery care during the pandemic (comparing March to August in 2019 with the same months in 2020). We also conducted a nested follow up cohort study with 2022 women during the pandemic to assess their provision and experience of respectful care. We used linear regression models to assess the association between provision and experience of care with volume of hospital births and women's residence in a COVID-19 hotspot area.The mean institutional births during the pandemic across the nine hospitals was 24 563, an average decrease of 11.6% (P < 0.0001) in comparison to the same time-period in 2019. The institutional birth in high-medium volume hospitals declined on average by 20.8% (P < 0.0001) during the pandemic, whereas in low-volume hospital institutional birth increased on average by 7.9% (P = 0.001). Maternity services halted for a mean of 4.3 days during the pandemic and there was a redeployment staff to COVID-19 dedicated care. Respectful provision of care was better in hospitals with low-volume birth (β = 0.446, P < 0.0001) in comparison to high-medium-volume hospitals. There was a positive association between women's residence in a COVID-19 hotspot area and respectful experience of care (β = 0.076, P = 0.001).The COVID-19 pandemic has had differential effects on maternity services with changes varying by the volume of births per hospital with smaller volume facilities doing better. More research is needed to investigate the effects of the pandemic on where women give birth and their provision and experience of respectful maternity care to inform a "building-back-better" approach in post-pandemic period.
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| 3. |
- Araujo, Nathalia, et al.
(författare)
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Tumor Suppressor Par-4 Regulates Complement Factor C3 and Obesity
- 2022
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Oncology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2234-943X. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4) is a tumor suppressor that induces apoptosis in cancer cells. However, the physiological function of Par-4 remains unknown. Here we show that conventional Par-4 knockout (Par-4-/-) mice and adipocyte-specific Par-4 knockout (AKO) mice, but not hepatocyte-specific Par-4 knockout mice, are obese with standard chow diet. Par-4-/- and AKO mice exhibit increased absorption and storage of fat in adipocytes. Mechanistically, Par-4 loss is associated with mdm2 downregulation and activation of p53. We identified complement factor c3 as a p53-regulated gene linked to fat storage in adipocytes. Par-4 re-expression in adipocytes or c3 deletion reversed the obese mouse phenotype. Moreover, obese human subjects showed lower expression of Par-4 relative to lean subjects, and in longitudinal studies, low baseline Par-4 levels denoted an increased risk of developing obesity later in life. These findings indicate that Par-4 suppresses p53 and its target c3 to regulate obesity.
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| 4. |
- Pun, Kunta Devi, et al.
(författare)
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Domestic violence and perinatal outcomes - a prospective cohort study from Nepal
- 2019
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Ingår i: BMC Public Health. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2458. ; 19
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Domestic violence is one of the most common forms of violence against women. Domestic violence during pregnancy is associated with adverse perinatal and maternal outcomes. We aimed to assess whether domestic violence was associated with mode of delivery, low birthweight and preterm birth in two sites in Nepal. Methods: In this prospective cohort study we consecutively recruited 2004 pregnant women during antenatal care at two hospitals between June 2015 and September 2016. The Abuse Assessment Screen (modified) was used to assess fear and violence. Having ever experienced either fear or violence was defined as any domestic violence. Obstetric outcomes were obtained from hospital records for 1381 (69%) women, selecting singleton pregnancies only. Mode of delivery was assessed as birth by cesarean section or not. A birthweight of less than 2500g was defined as low birthweight and preterm birth as birth before completion of 37weeks gestation. Descriptive and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed to assess associations. Results: Twenty percent of the women reported any domestic violence. Among all 1381 women, 37.6% gave birth by cesarean section. Of those women who delivered by cesarean section, 84.7% had an emergency cesarean section. Less than 10% of the babies were born prematurely and 13.5% were born with low birthweight. We found no significant association between exposure to any domestic violence during pregnancy and risk of a low birthweight baby or birth by cesarean section. However, having experienced both violence and fear was significantly associated with giving birth to a preterm infant [aOR 2.33 (95% CI;1.10-4.73)]. Conclusions: Domestic violence is common in Nepal. This is a potential risk factor for severe morbidity and mortality in newborns. We found that the risk of having a preterm baby was higher for pregnant women who experienced both fear and violence. This should be recognized by the health sector. In this study, no significant differences were found in the rate of cesarean section nor low birthweight for women who had experienced any domestic violence compared to those who did not.
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| 5. |
- Sapkota, Binaya, et al.
(författare)
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Disaster Management and Emergency Preparedness in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
- 2023
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Ingår i: Encyclopedia of Evidence in Pharmaceutical Public Health and Health Services Research in Pharmacy.. - Cham : Springer Cham. - 9783030502478
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Disaster is an event that causes significant damage, destruction, and human suffering. The imbalance between needs and available resources necessitates national or international assistance based on the severity of the damage. Disasters can be caused by nature (e.g., hurricanes, floods, tsunami, landslides, and earthquakes) or human-inflicted (e.g., bioterrorism, cyberattacks, armed conflicts, civil war, chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological hazards). Over the last decade, 4777 natural disasters occurred worldwide, taking the lives of more than 880,000 people and causing economic losses of USD 685 billion. Since disaster effects are disproportionate, there is a need for effective pre-event, event, and post-event plans. Disaster resilience can be achieved by learning and developing skills and resources at the individual, community, and operational level to respond to and recover from disasters. The practice of community-based disaster risk reduction and the concept of build back better, and management of post-disaster complications are gaining momentum. Effective disaster management demands a multidisciplinary response team to address medical and health needs; mental/psychological health and rehabilitation; disaster management education; foods, shelter, and essential logistics; sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition during relief activities. Regular healthcare operations can suddenly be hampered due to disruptions in the chain of supply, particularly. Disasters usually hamper uninterrupted flow of medical and pharmaceutical supplies and hence necessitate a competent logistics manager. Pharmacists play a crucial role in providing pharmaceutical supplies during disasters.
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